‘No grant’ dig puts BJP MP on the spot; Congress calls it threat to voters | Ahmedabad News

4 min readVadodaraApr 22, 2026 02:51 AM IST

Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP’s) Anand MP Mitesh Patel’s comments of “not giving any grant” to Congress members should they win the upcoming local body elections from Anklav taluka, have drawn sharp reactions from the Congress, which accused the ruling party of being “arrogant” and “high on power”.

At a public meeting held in Anklav on Monday night, Patel was addressing the gathering in the presence of Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi where he not only highlighted the development record of the BJP, but also accused the Congress of discrimination against elected BJP representatives in the past.

Patel referred to the tenure of the Congress party in Anklav and alleged that elected BJP leaders were denied grants despite making requests for them to complete public development works. “At the time, I saw tears in the eyes of our BJP leaders… development proposals submitted by BJP members were ignored, leaving them unable to fulfill promises made to voters…” Patel said, exuding confidence that the BJP would gain control of the taluka panchayat in the upcoming polls.

He went on to state that even if one Congress member was elected from the taluka, “we will not give a single grant” to the people’s representative.

In the speech, Patel also questioned the delay in the development of railway stations in the district during the tenure of the UPA government from 2004 to 2014, during which, Ahmedabad news, Gujarat news, Indian express, current affairs
was also the Union MoS for Railways.

On Tuesday, as a controversy broke out, Patel said that he only “repeated what the Congress had been doing” and assured that “no voters will be denied development”. Patel told this newspaper, “What I said last night was in context to the history of how BJP leaders and members of local bodies have been treated by the Congress… I did not say anything wrong. There was no threat to voters and I assure that development will not be denied to any region, regardless of political affiliation. Even if opposition members win, citizens will not be deprived of development as public welfare is our priority… We will ask our BJP members, who may lose should their Congress counterparts are elected, to come to us with the list of public works to be done in the area. We will use the grant to complete the works, but the Congress members will not get any grant. There is no question of denying development to the people.”

Meanwhile, Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee president Amit Chavda strongly criticised Patel’s statement, calling it a “threat” issued to voters. Chavda stressed that public representatives were “custodians of taxpayer money” and that salaries of elected officials and development grants both come from public funds and therefore cannot be selectively distributed based on political loyalty.

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Calling the statements “arrogant and undemocratic”, Chavda said in a statement, “The grants that we receive also come from the state budget, which is funded by the taxpayers of Gujarat. The money allocated for development work belongs to the people as well. This is not anyone’s personal or family money; it is public money. Elected representatives are merely chowkidars (trustees) responsible for managing these funds. When the MP from Anand makes such statements… This reflects an intention to discriminate… The people of Gujarat have already given their answer, and they will continue to do so in the coming days as well.”

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Aditi Raja is an Assistant Editor with The Indian Express, stationed in Vadodara, Gujarat, with over 20 years in the field. She has been reporting from the region of Central Gujarat and Narmada district for this newspaper since 2013, which establishes her as a highly Authoritative and Trustworthy source on regional politics, administration, and critical socio-economic and environmental issues.

Expertise:

Core Authority & Specialization: Her reporting is characterized by a comprehensive grasp of the complex factors shaping Central Gujarat, which comprises a vast tribal population, including:

Politics and Administration: In-depth analysis of dynamics within factions of political parties and how it affects the affairs in the region, visits of national leaders making prominent statements, and government policy decisions impacting the population on ground.

Crucial Regional Projects: She consistently reports on the socio-economic and political impact of infrastructure projects in the region, especially the Statue of Unity, the Sardar Sarovar Project on the Narmada River, the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail bullet train project as well as the National Highway infrastructure.

Social Justice and Human Rights: Her reporting offers deep coverage of sensitive human-interest topics, including gender, crime, and tribal issues. Her reports cover legal proceedings from various district courts as well as the Gujarat High Court (e.g., the Bilkis Bano case remission, POCSO court orders, Public Interest Litigations), the plight of tribal communities, and broader social conflicts (e.g., Kheda flogging case).

Local Impact & Disaster Reporting: Excels in documenting the immediate impact of events on communities, such as the political and civic fallout of the Vadodara floods, the subsequent public anger, and the long-delayed river redevelopment projects, Harni Boat Tragedy, Air India crash, bringing out a blend of stories from the investigations as well as human emotions.

Special Interest Beat: She tracks incidents concerning Non-Resident Gujaratis (NRIs) including crime and legal battles abroad, issues of illegal immigration and deportations, as well as social events connecting the local Gujarati experience to the global diaspora. … Read More

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